The Ghost of Phantomhive Manor

by VisionaryDame

For the past week, Amelia has been convinced that the manor is being haunted by a ghost. Fearing for her life and the lives of those who reside within, she requests the aid of Ciel's three servants to track down and exorcise the specter before the Halloween dinner party that night. Little did they realize that the ghost itself had a few tricks up its sleeve. [Mentions Mey-RinOC]

"I do hope Madam Blue isn't going to be upset with us when we break the bad news to her," Finnian sighed in defeat, his shoulders slouching to accentuate his demeanor, as he walked alongside Baldroy and Mey-Rin. The two had similar expressions as each other as they made their way through the halls of the mansion. It felt like a storm cloud had begun looming over them. "I'd hate to see her as upset as she was the last time we spoke to her."

"Well, what do you expect us to do, Finny?" Baldroy questioned, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "We spent all day searchin' for a bloody ghost for her only to come up empty-handed." He sighed frustratedly. "There's not much we can do before the dinner party starts tonight, and we certainly can't let the Master or Sebastian find out the mansion is haunted!" He shuttered. "Especially not Sebastian."

Mey-Rin whimpered, folding her hands in front of her and pouting.

"And I was really lookin' forward to seein' it, too," she whined as her head began to droop. "It would've been amazing to at least catch even a glimpse of it."

The three sighed in unison as they continued their way down the long hallway, a sense of dread clouding over them a lot more than before.

They did not have any fear of the individual named Madam Blue - Amelia as Ciel had sometimes called her. She was not high strung and cold as the Lord Phantomhive, but rather she was quite the opposite. For someone in her early twenties, Amelia indeed acted much younger than most would believe on many occasions. Because of this, the three servants felt utterly terrible over the fact that they were incapable of locating a supposed ghost that lurked within the halls of the Phantomhive Mansion, a spirit she claimed to have spotted on numerous occasions.

According to Amelia, she said she had the growing suspicion of seeing things out of the corner of her eye, but she paid no mind to it until things began to become strange. Throughout the past week, unexplainable events started to occur within the household, which only caused her suspicions to grow with every passing day. Ranging from seeing objects moving from one place to another to feeling like someone or something was passing through her body, Amelia was eventually, and rather quickly, convinced that the mansion was being haunted by an unknown, yet malicious entity that only wanted to "consume every ounce of her innocent soul."

Unfortunately for her, judging from the way she explained the predicament to the three, it was evident that she had a severe phobia of haunted houses and being possessed by a possible demon, so the idea that such a thing was happening terrified her greatly.

"I wanted to let Ciel know about this before it got out of hand. Or, at the very least, Sebastian or even sweet Celestia, but I feel they'll only laugh at me," she dramatically cried after she finished explaining her story, clinging to a blushing Mey-Rin's waist and hugging her as if she were a fearful child holding onto her mother. "They'll think it's some kind of a joke for the Halloween season and brush it off like it's nothing of importance." She groaned and buried her face into Mey-Rin's shoulder while Baldroy and Finnian looked at each other with worried looks in their eyes. "If there really is a ghost in the household, we'll be doomed! I'll never forgive myself if something happened to you or anyone else!"

"N-now, now, Madam Blue, don't you worry 'bout a thing!" Mey-Rin smiled and soothed her, placing a hand atop the brunette's head and patting it gently. "We'll go lookin' for that wretched ghost and catch it before the dinner party starts tonight! Yes, we will!"

The moment she spoke those words, Amelia looked at her and gasped in surprise, blue eyes widening as they filled with hope in a matter of seconds. Baldroy and Finnian merely glanced at one another nervously. Mey-Rin was not serious when she said that, was she? It was hard to tell with those glasses of hers shielding her eyes all the time, which only worried the two even further.

"Oh, my darling Mey-Rin, do you mean that?" The brunette questioned, a hopeful smile spreading on her face. "Will you and the others actually go find the ghost for me?"

Finnian looked back at Amelia with a more determined look forming in his eyes.

"O-of course, we will!" He chimed in hastily, earning a confused look from the others except for Amelia, whose hopeful look seemed to grow. "In fact, we'll even exorcise it for you if we find it!"

"We'll what?!" Baldroy exclaimed as Amelia gasped joyfully. "Don't be ridiculous, Finny! We don't know anythin' about-"

"Oh, Finnian, that's so brave of you to say!" She proclaimed, interrupting Baldroy while squeezing Mey-Rin even tighter than before. "If you three could do something as amazing as that, I'll be indebted to the three of you for the rest of my life! I swear!"

Baldroy looked at Amelia nervously before scratching the back of his head.

"Well, it'll be a pain to do something like that, if I'll be honest..." He muttered under his breath. After a brief moment, he glanced at Amelia again and paled at her pouting expression, realizing that she was practically begging and almost in tears at that point. It was clear that taking no for an answer was not the best possible route to go down. Upon seeing that look in her eyes, he could not help but sigh. "But...I suppose it won't hurt to give it a shot..."

Little did he or any of the others realize the difficulty of finding a possible ghost, especially if they did not want Ciel or worse Sebastian finding out about what they were doing. How were they supposed to explain to them that a ghost was haunting the manor and that Amelia had requested their assistance in secret?

As they approached the bedroom door of Amelia's bedroom, the three grimaced at their failed attempts at locating the ghost, recalling many instances where one of the three in particular nearly caught them in the act. Fortunately, Ciel had only been spotted once during their little mission, almost getting caught in the dining room attempting to light a bundle of dried herbs - according to what Mey-Rin read, it was known as "smudging" - so they could begin the purging process. Unfortunately, however, they were spotted by Sebastian and Celestia while they traveled around the mansion waving the herbs. The three, to explain themselves without blowing their cover, told them that they were testing out a few new fragrances to see if they would help in "livening up the party."

"W-we were reading a few books about creating a pleasant atmosphere using scents for the dinner party tonight," Finnian was the first to make this comment, surprising both Baldroy and Mey-Rin. "We thought it would be a nice touch if the house smelled good!"

Sebastian stared at the group for a moment, eying them down with unchanging blank red eyes. Celestia, on the other hand, glanced at them with curious violet eyes, briefly running a hand through her long white hair before allowing it to rest on her right shoulder.

"Ah, like aromatherapy?" She inquired as she began fiddling with the ruffles on the sleeves of her coat.

"Y-yes! You're right, Miss Celeste!" Mey-Rin was quick to respond, pulling the book she had been reading closer to her chest. "We want the party to have a more pleasant atmosphere so we can enjoy it more! Just for the season!"

Celestia smiled at those words.

"Well, that's very kind of you!" She beamed, folding her hands together. She stole a glance at the seemingly unimpressed Sebastian and smirked. "And here I thought the great Sebastian would have thought of this far before these three. Sounds like someone is trying to steal your title, don't you think?"

Baldroy panicked as Sebastian glanced at Celeste with an unchanging expression.

"I would be a bit offended if the scent they used was really pleasant," the butler pointed out.

"U-uh, it's nothin' like that, Sebastian! W-we promise!" The chef exclaimed and waved his hands defensively, earning their attention once more. He began scratching the back of his head. "W-we just wanted to do somethin' different for the season! That's all! It ain't supposed to mean anything like that!"

Celeste giggled in response.

"Oh, I'm only teasing, Bard," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest, oblivious to the shade of pink that rose on his cheeks, and pursed her lips. "Though, I must admit Sebastian has a point. It just smells like burning herbs, nothing pleasant." She smiled. "But I approve of your efforts, even if he doesn't. Lord Phantomhive should be pleased to have you three!"

Despite her words of kindness, the servants still felt uneasy and nervous. Smudging the house was out of the question, even if Celeste appeared convinced of their fib, and they were out of time to try anything else. The fear of Sebastian turning a corner and catching them in a questionable act clouded their thoughts, and it is hard to try anything else without risking something like upsetting him...again.

Before they knew it, Baldroy, Mey-Rin, and Finnian found themselves standing at the door of Amelia's bedroom, their dread growing stronger the longer they stared at it. They took a moment to look at each other, each of them with nervous expressions. They remained silent as they did this, but it was not long before it was broken.

"S-so, uh," Finnian whispered, "who wants to be the one to break the news to her?" Baldroy and Mey-Rin looked at him briefly before looking at one another. After a moment, Finnian frowned. "Well, it's not gonna be me. Did you see how frightened she was when we told her?"

"Well, it ain't gonna be me, either," Baldroy quickly stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've never done well with women in tears, I'll tell you that."

A brief moment of silence fell over them as the two immediately looked at Mey-Rin, whose gaze shifted between the two. It had taken some time before she realized what they were trying to do.

"W-what?! Don't go lookin' at me!" She quickly stepped back from the two. "I can't go makin' Madam Blue upset! I just can't!"

"But she likes you a lot, Mey-Rin! Practically head over heels for you!" Finnian pointed out, turning to face her completely. "She won't be as upset if the news comes from you!" He quivered. "She doesn't look like it, but I can only imagine what she's like when she's angry."

"Finny, she's not going to be mad at any of us!" Mey-Rin explained to him, trying to keep her voice low. "We'll just tell her that we tried our best to find the ghost, but Sebastian and Celestia kept finding us before we could do anythin' about it!"

Baldroy turned to face her as well, thinking about her words for a moment.

"I suppose we could do that," he muttered as his fell to his hips. "Still, it would be less harsh comin' from someone she really likes." He shrugged as Mey-Rin whimpered. "Come on, Mey-Rin. What's the worst that could happen?"

Moments later, the bedroom door suddenly opened to them, causing the servants to freeze in their spots. It slowly creaked open for them, and a light breeze of cold air poured out from it. Baldroy and Finnian slowly turned their heads toward the door, their eyes wide with fear a shiver ran down their spines. The room appeared to be completely dark, yet the cold air that escaped the room made them question if the room was vacant or not. Not to mention it is hard to tell if it was occupied by someone, or something, living or dead, which only made the two pale in terror as they began to quiver. Mey-Rin, on the other hand, suddenly had an excited grin form on her lips, her glasses hiding the happy look in her eyes over what she had witnessed. She could barely hide how happy she was; no doubt it had something to do with the ghost.

"W-w-what was that?" Finnian whimpered, stepping away from the door.

"It...it can't be..." Baldroy started, but he was incapable of finishing. The idea that a ghost was actually in the Phantomhive household was a ridiculous thing, but after witnessing a door open by itself, it was a bit tougher to deny the accusations. Before anything else could be said, Mey-Rin ran forward, grabbing the two men by their sleeves and dragged them into the room. "H-hey! Mey-Rin, what are ya' doin'?!" Baldroy exclaimed.

"We're gonna find ourselves a ghost, of course!" Mey-Rin cheered as she pulled the two along, entering the dark room with a pep in her step, while Baldroy and Finnian attempted to release themselves from her grip.

The moment they entered the room, however, their chances of escape were cut off as the door slammed behind them, causing them to jump and scream - Baldroy and Finnian in terror, Mey-Rin in excitement. They were trapped within Amelia's room, and there was nothing they could do.

The servants immediately began to survey the room around them, realizing that their only source of light came from the moonlight entering through the window and using it to their advantage. It was a relatively standard sized room that had all the necessities: a bedroom, dresser, mirror, closet, among other typical things. On the nightstand near the bed resided a stick of incense, still burning despite the breeze that continued to swirl within the room. The only bright side was that the room began to smell like lavender, which seemed to calm their senses just a bit. The window was a bit larger than some of the other windows in the household, allowing more light to enter the room, and it gave a decent view of the garden down below. On any other day, the room had a decently calming atmosphere; tonight, however, it felt tense and eerie.

As they cautiously continued looking around the room, the three were able to spot a lone figure standing at the window, their back facing them and seemingly unaware of their presence. What appeared to be the flickering light of a small candle could be seen reflecting off the glass. The room remained eerie, yet the sight of the individual in the room calmed them down even further. They were able to recognize the person as Amelia, and they were hoping that she would be here waiting for them. Her brown hair, held back in a low ponytail and rippling like waves down past her bottom, swayed lightly in the breeze, and her arms appeared to be hiding in front of her. No doubt that she was carrying the candle that flickered against the window. Judging from the style of clothing, she still appeared to be wearing her typical attire: for her top, she had a long sleeved corset blouse with a light flounce on the sleeves and hem. She also had black lace seams over bold printed blue panels, faux hook-and-eye closures down the center with spaghetti ties in the back. For her legs, she had simple black pants with a simple pair of black colored ankle boots.

The servants stood in their spots for a moment, watching and waiting for Amelia to make the first move. A few minutes seemed to pass by as they waited, and it got to the point where the silence was practically killing them. In an attempt to break the silence, Finnian and Baldroy nudged Mey-Rin forward a bit, pushing her closer to the young woman a bit, before moving backward. They were still pale and quivering in fear, and it was evident that they were worried that Amelia was going to be displeased with them for failing their duty. Mey-Rin looked at them for only a moment before looking at Amelia again. She still felt excited about finding the ghost, but the least she could do was make sure Amelia was okay. After all, she was located in the room where the ghost may have resided.

"U-um...Madam Blue?" Mey-Rin spoke up, keeping a suitable distance from the noble. "Is...is everythin' alright?"

It was silent for a moment, almost as if Amelia did not hear what was said. However, Mey-Rin watched as Amelia slowly turned her head, though not enough for face to be seen.

"Ah," she responded calmly. "You're here, my darling." The odd response worried Mey-Rin; something seemed off with her, and it was not difficult to see that. "I'm...so glad to see that you've arrived."

"You sound a bit odd, Madam," Mey-Rin pointed out, taking a small step closer. Baldroy and Finnian merely watched from afar, terrified that Amelia may have already learned about their failure. "Are you...okay?"

"Did you find it?" Amelia suddenly whispered, avoiding her question entirely and surprising her. "Did you find it? The entity?"

Mey-Rin turned her head to Baldroy and Finnian, watching as they nervously gestured for her to continue. They did not have much of a choice in the matter, so they had no choice but to go forward. Nodding, Mey-Rin returned her attention to Amelia, who seemingly turned her head just enough for part of her face to be seen while her eyes remained hidden by the hair that framed her round face.

"Well...unfortunately, we couldn't find it," she informed her regretfully. "We tried our best to try to get rid of it, but..." She lowered her head as she folded her hands in front of her, "...but we didn't have much luck since Sebastian and Miss Celeste caught us." She, suddenly, raised her hands defensively. "W-we didn't tell them what we were plannin', of course! We were worried that they may catch doing somethin' else, and we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves!"

Amelia continued to stand there in silence, listening to Mey-Rin's words intently. It was after she finished that the brunette slowly turned her head back to the window, staring out at the garden like before. Mey-Rin anticipated an over-dramatic reaction, crying out in terror as she came to the realization that the house was still haunted and that she was doomed. They all were expecting Amelia to react that way, though the room remained silent. There was no crying, no over-dramatic monologues of despair, no clinging to maids, nothing at all. Instead, the noblewoman began chuckling in a rather dark manner. The reaction frightened Baldroy and Finnian even further, while Mey-Rin tried to contain her excitement by keeping a straight face.

"That's a shame to hear, love," Amelia spoke again. "But, I just can't be upset with the three of you. I'm sure you worked very hard to try and catch it. And besides..." She chuckled again. "I actually found the ghost myself."

"Y-you did?!" Finnian exclaimed in surprise. "That's fantastic news!" He began looking around the room excitedly. "Where it is, exactly?"

"Uh, Finny, I don't think there's a way to contain a ghost, you know..." Baldroy pointed out, scratching his cheek with his index finger.

Suddenly, the brunette began laughing darkly once more, earning the attention of the servants again.

"Oh, you silly man," she cooed when her laughing ceased. The comment sent a shiver down the chef's spine while Finnian took a step back in fear. "That's actually untrue. There is one way to contain it...kind of."

The moment those words left her lips, the atmosphere became much darker, and a much stronger chill ran through the room. The three glanced around the room, searching for the possible cause of the change. Suddenly, the window began to rattle violently, grabbing their attention and forcing them to look at Amelia once more. This time, she had turned to face them, her candle held in front of her and flickering as if it were about to go out. Her face, framed by two wavy strands reaching her chin, swayed in the breeze, while her straight cut bangs hovered over her royal blue eyes and giving her a more menacing look. Her eyes also appeared to be much different than the happy young woman they had grown accustomed to seeing, and a wide grin was plastered on her thin lips. The light coming from the candle was no help, and only added to the terrifying look she had on her fair face.

The sight of her terrified Finnian and Baldroy as they embraced one another and trembled in horror, while Mey-Rin was quick to become as giddy as a school girl the moment Amelia turned around to look at them.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Amelia's being possessed by the ghost! I just knew it!"

"Y-you say that as if it's a good thing!" Baldroy shouted.

Amelia began laughing maniacally, dropping one of her hands while keeping her grip on the candle holder. Her head rolled backward so that she was looking at the ceiling.

"Of course it's a good thing, silly!" She proclaimed, adjusting her head so that she was looking at them once again. "Taking over this body of this pathetic woman gives me the chance to do what I have vowed to do after all these years!"

"W-what i-is that?" Finnian stammered over his words, his trembling and his grip on Baldroy growing stronger the longer he stayed in the room.

Her grin grew even wider at that as she stared them down like a predator would their prey.

"To end the lives of the living..." She giggled. After that, she began pointing at them. "And I'm going to start...with you three..."

The window suddenly shot open behind her, a large gust of wind pushing passed her and into the room. Random objects around the room began to fall to the floor as if they were being pushed around by an unexpected force. The candle that resided in Amelia's hand flickered out the moment the window flew open, darkening her face and giving her a more threatening appearance in her eyes and on her wide grin. The sight alone caused Finnian to scream in terror, unable to handle everything that was being thrown in his direction. Amelia was possessed by a dangerous ghost, the same spirit that she had claimed to see during the past week, and it was ready to kill them too.

"We've gotta get out of here!" He shouted, running over and grabbing Mey-Rin by the sleeve and running toward the door. Baldroy was quick to follow.

"W-wait a minute! We can't leave!" Mey-Rin exclaimed, trying to fight against his firm grip but to no avail. "I wanna see how far this possession will go! It's so exciting!"

"It ain't excitin' when a bloody ghost is tryin' to kill us!" Baldroy cried frantically. Seconds after he said those words, Finnian suddenly broke through Amelia's bedroom door, unlatching the hinges upon impact, and ran down the hallway with Mey-Rin trailing close behind. A horrified look crossed over Baldroy's face at the sight. "Jesus, Finny!" He muttered as he chased after them. "Come back, guys! Don't go leavin' me behind to get lynched!"

As their voices began to disappear down the hallway, so did the blustering winds. Gradually, the winds continued to die down until it had vanished entirely, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. Amelia continued to stare at the broken bedroom door, her gaze still dark and cold as she glared, but it soon began to shift to a blank stare before changing into a mischevious grin. After another moment, she started laughing hysterically, using the window sill to keep herself standing. She continued laughing for another minute or so before taking a moment to calm herself down.

"Well...well damn," she breathed, leaning out the window to get fresh air before she began giggling once again. "I was anticipating for them to freak out, but I wasn't expecting something like that!"

"Well, what did you suspect, Amelia?" Her laughing ceased as she glanced to her side to find Celestia sitting on the window, looking at her with a sly smile on her lips. "You certainly convinced those three that the Phantomhive household was haunted by a ghost with your..." She inhaled deeply, "...magnificent acting skills."

Amelia pouted at that as she stood up straight, tapping her fingers against the window sill.

"Hey, clearly my skills worked out!" She told her, turning back toward the door and smirking triumphantly. "You can even see how well it worked! Poor Finny busted through that door so fast, I barely saw him turn tail and run!"

Celestia glanced over her shoulder, looking at the door as well with a pout.

"That wouldn't have worked had it not been for me, you know," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Then, she sighed. "It still ceases to amaze me that every year you do something like this, and people still fall for it." She crossed her legs while leaning back on her hands. "Either we're excellent at what we do, or you just so happen to run into people who are dumb enough to fall for such a ridiculous story."

Amelia turned her head to Celestia, grinning widely.

"Frankly, I prefer the latter," she laughed as she began walking toward the door in an almost elegant manner. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go inform them of my trickery before Ciel catches wind of it. Bad enough he and Sebastian are not going to be happy about Finny breaking down my door. Not only that," She suddenly sighed dramatically as she folded her hands in front of her chest, "but I have to apologize to my sweet Mey-Rin for lying to her. She was so excited to believe that there was really a ghost in the house, and I feel absolutely terrible for pulling the wool over her eyes."

Celestia chuckled as she swung her legs inside, remaining in her spot.

"Come now, Amelia, it's Halloween," she grinned devilishly. Amelia glanced over her shoulder to look at the slender woman, pouting sadly as she did. "It's all about the tricks for you, especially during this holiday season. Why do you care about lying to someone when you know it's just a trick?"

Amelia stared at her for a moment before smiling lovingly. If hearts could replace her eyes, Celestia was sure that would have happened.

"Why, because she's the love of my life, Celeste!" She proclaimed, causing the woman to roll her eyes, as she pranced out of the room and skipped out of sight. "I can't lie to the face of the woman I'm madly in love with~!"

After briefly listening to Amelia's singing as it faded down the hall, Celeste sighed.

"What an odd Halloween it's been this year," she muttered as she stood up and began cleaning the mess she caused. Then, she could not help but smile. "Still, it certainly never gets old."